CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Freshman Sara Sandberg picked the most opportune time for her to net her first career collegiate score Friday night, lifting the Charlotte women's soccer program to a 2-1 win over visiting Mercer at Transamerica Field.

Sandberg entered the contest in the second half at the 70:47 mark, and as the 49ers continued their offensive push during the second 45 minutes, she was the one who capitalized in less than 30 seconds on the field. Fellow rookie Sophie Sipprell set the play up by sending a touch pass forward, splitting a pair of Bears defenders, leaving Sandberg to run onto the loose ball. The Örebro, Sweden, native sprinted onto the ball and fired a shot from 15 yards away past goalkeeper Cristina Mursuli for the match winner at 71:18.

She became the fourth different freshman scorer for the Niners this season, out of nine on the roster.

"It was very exciting," Sandberg noted. "The goal gave me a bit of confidence to continue scoring."

Another one of the first-year stars, Julia Grainda, was the one who positioned Charlotte (3-2) for the early advantage. Grainda located Preseason Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year, Martha Thomas, who received the ball and dribbled towards Mursuli and the Mercer cage. Thomas slotted her shot to the far right netting to give the 49ers a 1-0 edge at the 19:29 mark.

"We knew it was going to be a very difficult game," head coach John Cullen said. "Mercer and ourselves had a really close game last year at their place. That keeps us undefeated at home and keeps this young team believing in what we're doing in training and working hard. Tonight, that four (defenders) was the reason we held firm, got the result and got over the line."

Charlotte held the 1-0 for much of the contest, maintaining an offensive push before the Bears knotted the scoring with just over 30 minutes remaining.  Emma Tokuyama ripped a hard shot from 30 yards away, tucking it just under the crossbar to even the score at 59:33.

Freshman Megan Greene attempted to widen the 49ers' advantage during the second period, placing her head on three-straight shots, but the Mercer (1-4) defense stood strong.

Charlotte was led by Greene's four overall attempts, one more than Sandberg and Thomas. Redshirt sophomore Anna Shelden collected three saves in making her fifth-consecutive start between the pipes.

Tokuyama was the lone Bears player with multiple shots, finishing with two, while five others had one. Mursuli matched Shelden with her three stops.

The Niners will return to action at 6 p.m. Monday in Columbia, South Carolina, against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

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